Secrets of the Snow
by Seruleyan-Wings
Summary: Hinata’s favorite memory with her cousin always takes place in the snow.
1. Chapter 1

**Title** Secrets of the Snow  
**Rating** T  
**Disclaimer** Don't own, not making a profit and I never will *crosses heart*

_flashback_  
'thoughts'  
"dialogue"

**Secrets of the Snow Pt. 1  
**

_Hinata's favorite memory with her cousin always takes place in the snow._

_"Neji-nii-chan! Come outside please! It's snowing!"_

_When she closes her eyes, she can still feel the feathery coldness melting into her snowboots and the frosty wind biting her cheeks and nose as she ran as fast as she could through the snowdrifts that would lead her to her cousin's house._

_"Neji-nii-chan! Wake up! There's snow!"_

_She remembers that there was something different about the snow that day. Something magical and happy, like it had fallen just for her. It sparkled and crunched beneath her purple boots and she almost slipped making her way up the steps to Neji's house._

_"Neji-nii-chan!"_

_And before her hand could knock on his door, it opened._

"Hinata?"

"Father!" the nineteen-year-old quickly bowed her head before the patriarch of the clan. "Good evening, father."

"You should be in bed. You have your first jounin mission tomorrow."

"Yes, I know, father." She raised her head and looked into his eyes. "I would just like to speak with Neji-nii-san about something before I go to sleep."

Hiashi's eyes glimmered curiously at her in the moonlight, before he turned his gaze toward the Hyuuga garden.

"That's fine then." He pulled his yukata closer around him and moved his cane forward to take a step. "Just make sure you're in bed before it snows tonight."

"Yes, father."

Hiashi made an approving grunt and moved away from the door to let Hinata through. Once he had entered the main house, she glanced inside the candlelit room where her cousin was, and quickly lost her nerve.

"_Hinata-sama."_

_Her cousin stood in the doorway of his home still in his sleeping clothes. The smell of freshly brewed coffee wafted from inside._

_"Why are you awake now? Are you ready to train?"_

_"No! It's snowing!"_

_Neji's tired gaze fell from his cousin, to the white fluff on the ground, then back to her._

_"So?" he yawned and rubbed the sleep from his eyes._

_"Come out here with me!" she tugged on his arm unexpectedly and his eyes widened from the sudden temperature change._

_"Hi-Hinata-sama!" he pulled his arm away from her grasp and scurried back into the warmth. "I'm not even dressed yet!"_

_"Please get dressed then. I can wait._"

'All right, c'mon Hinata. You're 19 now and this is no time to be a coward. You're a jounin and you need to face this like a mission. Execute with perfection and don't hesitate.'

With false bravado, she stepped into the room, and quickly shut the door behind her. After slipping off her shoes she stood silent for a moment.

Had he noticed her yet?

Of course he had. He'd been a jounin for 4 years longer than she had. He had always been the prodigy.

She tilted her head up to find the handsome brunette in the corner of the room in his usual meditative position. The musky scent of incense and burning oil filled the air and gave the room the room an almost ethereal glow.

He didn't say anything, but she knew that he knew she was there, and so she dared another step forward.

"Hinata-sama." Her name was a statement, rolling smooth and calm off his tongue to echo in the tiny space, and shake her resolve. Trying to look unaffected, she looked up to meet his gaze, which was narrowed at her and more intense than the Sharingan.

She was annoying him with her presence. She decided that she'd better do what she came here to do, but before she could utter a syllable, he spoke again.

"You're drunk."

She paused, stunned at the accusation.

"No! W-well, not drunk but…I only had a l-little sake with Sakura-chan after the briefing…"

He quirked a brow, genuinely curious as to why his cousin decided to interrupt his meditation while…uncharacteristically buzzed.

When she felt her cousin's eyes reading her like an open book, she shifted her position and cleared her throat. Walking briskly to sit in front of her cousin, she finally decided to put on her shinobi face. It was now or never.

"I just thought that you'd like to know that Hokage-sama promoted me to jounin while you were on your mission."

"Congratulations." He said pointedly, closing his eyes once more.

"And I have my first mission tomorrow." She pulled a bottle of sake and two small cups from her white kimono.

"You'll do fine." Was the stoic reply, his inexpressiveness never wavering.

_And he quickly returned to her in his navy blue coat, blue hat, matching scarf, boots, and mittens._

_They looked at one another before he said, "Hinata-sama! Where is your scarf and hat…and mittens?"_

_"Oh!" she started, suddenly noticing her state of undress. "I…I guess I forgot them."_

_He sighed and shook his head. Hinata watched curiously as her cousin went back into his room and came out with a scarf and mittens for her._

_"Here." He wrapped the scarf tightly around his little cousin and smiled. "You'll get sick, Hinata-sama."_

_She remembers that he smiled a genuine smile that day. She felt warm and smiled back; knowing at that from that moment on she could always trust Neji to protect her._

_"C'mon. I thought you wanted to show me the snow?"_

_"Yes!" she practically squealed and grabbed Neji's arm as he escorted her outside into the winter wonderland._

"What was your first jounin mission like, Neji-nii-chan?"

He halfway opened his eyes at the sudden colloquial use of his name. He then opened them all the way, studying his younger cousin as she began to pour the sake.

"You shouldn't get drunk the night before a mission. You haven't drank before and if you start tonight it will only weaken your ability to focus and thus leave you susceptible to an enemy's attack, not to mention risk the mission."

"I know." Was her meager response as she popped the cork back in the sake and pushed Neji's cup toward him. "And I have drank before, but you didn't answer my question." Her bejeweled eyes gazed up at him expectantly.

Neji didn't even glance down at his cup. She knew that he disapproved of alcohol, but he knew that she disapproved of it as well. So what was she doing? It wasn't like her to just walk in in the middle of he night and offer him alcohol right before she had a mission the next day. It wasn't even like her to interrupt him at all! This certainly wasn't Hinata, but it wasn't a clone either...or an illusion...so what had gotten into her?

His hand reached out and grabbed her wrist before she could put her filled cup to her mouth.

"Hinata-sama. What are you doing?" His narrowed eyes thwarted her like kunai.

"I just wanted to talk with you Neji-nii-cha-"

"No!" he said sternly, jolting her out of her act so forcefully that she dropped her cup. "This isn't like you, Hinata-sama. Please, explain to me what's going on."

Her lavender gaze fell to the floor, ashamed and embarrassed at her folly.

After a few minutes of silence, he released her wrist and pushed the sake aside. He entwined his arms across his chest and stared at Hinata for a few beats, waiting for a response.

After there was none, he closed his eyes.

"If you need advice on one of _those_ missions, then perhaps you'd be better off talking to Sakura-san or Tenten-san. I am of no aid in that area."

There was still silence, and then he heard a quiet whimpering. He opened his eyes once more to find the younger girl hunched in front of him, sobbing.

"Hinata-sama?"

"N-Neji! Neji-nii-san!" she threw herself onto him, completely shaken and distraught. Neji was suddenly taken off guard and her tackle had pushed him onto the wall.  
"Hinata-sama?!"

"Don't make me go, nii-chan! P-p-p-please! I….I hate it!!! It's not easy…no matter what they say…."

Neji stayed quiet in stunned silence as his younger cousin grabbed hold of his yukata and held it to her face. He had no idea what to do. One minute she was trying to…well he had no idea what she was trying to do a minute ago, but then she suddenly changed into a sobbing mess.

Perhaps it was that time of the month for her? In that case the sake had only acerbated her situation.

"Hinata-sama," he patted her head reassuringly. "Perhaps you just need to go to sleep. This is obviously your first time drinking sake, and its effects on you are more than you can handle right now. Sleep it off and you'll be fine in the morning." He tried to pull her out of his yukata, but she held tightly.

"No! You! Y-y-y-you have to go talk to the Hokage! Get someone else! H-help me, nii-chan!"

She sounded so _desperate_.

_"Hinata-sama, if you keep throwing those snowballs at me, I won't be able to finish our snowman."_

_"Quit building him then!" she fired another snowball and it landed pathetically in front of him, "Play with me, Neji-nii-chan!"_

_Neji just shook his head and turned his back to her, continuing to roll the ball for the midsection of the snowman. Big mistake._

_"Neji-nii-chan!"_

_Before he knew what hit him, Neji fell into the snow, incidentally crashing face-first into the huge packed ball of snow that he had worked so hard to roll._

_His assailant sat on his backside, giggling and poking him._

_"N-Neji-nii-chan? Are you okAAAAAY?!!"_

_Neji had swiftly flipped her over and pinned her in the snow._

_"This means war." He said rather seriously, some snow still clinging to his tan face._

_"War? Why war? I just wanted to…"_

_After dusting the snow off, he stood up off of her and trudged behind the tree._

_"I hope that your training with Hiashi-oji-sama is paying off!"_

_Butterflies swirled in her tummy excitedly as she sat up prepared to fend off the expected assault from her playmate._

_Finally!_

_She just hoped that this didn't turn into another one of his infamous training sessions._

"Hinata-sama!" he said as firm as he could, straightening Hinata in front of him. "You must calm yourself. This is no way for a shinobi of your caliber to behave."

"I know." She murmured tears still glossy in her puffy red eyes. Black tear streaks marred her face as well, and he chanced a look at his yukata. It was a good thing it was black too, he supposed.

"Now, what is it? What could be so bad? You've been on an assassination mission before, haven't you?"

Sniffling, she nodded her head.

"Is that what kind of mission you have?"

She nodded again.

He sighed in exasperation.

"Hinata-sama, those missions are ridiculously easy. You just need to separate yourself from the victim, don't bond with them. Don't make a connection. He's the mission, nothing more, nothing less."

Hinata said nothing, just pulled a cloth from her kimono and started cleaning the spilt sake from the floor. It was a beautiful kimono, he noted. Pure white with gold trim and a golden phoenix that was wrapping around her body. It greatly accentuated the porcelain glow of her skin and the deep ebony blue in her long hair.  
For some reason, though, she wore the kimono around her shoulders, the obi barely tied around the back. The front fell open to reveal just enough of voluptuous features, though Neji would never admit that aloud to a soul.

Why was she wearing it now? Hadn't that kimono been a present from her mother? A present to wear for her…her wedding, wasn't it?

Suddenly, it dawned upon him, and his eyes widened.

The sake, the kimono, the light hints of make-up on her face that, combined with the incense and candlelight, was an ideal romantic setting. The perfect place for an innocent young girl to succumb to the charms of a man.

She was trying to seduce him.

"It's not just an assassination mission, is it Hinata?" his tone leveled, but became less serious as he tried to look in her eyes.

Briefly, her soft eyes met his in an apologetic look. She was like an open book to him.

Her eyes watered in shame.

'Dammit, why do I have to be so weak?!'

She couldn't fight down the tears that burned in her eyes and brought the sleeve of her kimono up to wipe them away, but he caught her wrist before she could make it there.

His eyes met hers for a brief minute, and she saw an understanding look that she hadn't seen for quite some time looking back at her.

"You'll soil your kimono." He said softly before pulling out a cloth from his yukata and handing it to her.

"Thank you, Neji-nii-san."

_"Hyuuga Hinata!"_

_A stern, familiar voice caught the two snow-covered tots off guard mid-snowball fight._

_"Father?" Neji stuttered as they watched the angered, half-awake man stomp over to them._

_"Hinata! Where is your hat?! You're mother would have a fit if she saw you now!" Hizashi demanded as his tiny niece bounced up to him and clung to his leg._

_"Sorry, Hizashi-oji-sama! I just…I just wanted to play in the snow!"_

_"No!"_

_Both uncle and niece stopped to look over at the young boy who had interrupted them._

_"It was my fault, father" Neji walked toward the pair and knelt his head reverently."I…I came and woke Hinata-sama up. I was anxious to be out here, so I hurried her and she didn't finish dressing. It…It was my fault. Forgive me."_

_They both stared at him for awhile, Hizashi giving his son a disbelieving glare. He then crossed his arms over his chest then turned his gaze toward his niece, who was looking down in contrition as well._

_"Is he telling the truth, Hinata-chan?" he asked after a few minutes._

_The tot glanced at Neji, but the boy never turned his gaze away from the ground._

_"No, Hizashi-oji-sama. He didn't come to me, I went to him. I came outside without dressing properly and woke nii-san up. Neji is just lying to protect me." In an act of appreciation, the tot reached out and grabbed Neji's gloved hand, which was wet and cold on her skin, but she didn't care. He gasped and turned to her, and she smiled warmly._

_Hinata then stood up, still holding her cousin's hand, and bravely looked up at her uncle. "Don't punish Neji, Hizashi-oji-sama. I just wanted to play in the snow. I even came without a scarf, but nii-san took one from the closet and gave it to me before we came out here."_

_Hizashi stood silent for a few moments before smiling and shaking his head at the pair._

_"Get into the house, you two, and put on some dry clothes. If I catch either of you out here again without being properly dressed, I'll make you clean up the Hyuuga stables for two weeks!"_

_"Yes father!"  
"Yes, oji-sama! Thank you!"_

"Hinata," he started. "Perhaps…perhaps you should go talk with Sakura-san or Tenten-san about this "information gathering"/assassination mission. I know that they've done this kind of thing before and it might be easier if…"

"No! It's not that."

Her face was still slightly smeared with mascara as she started to gather the sake cups. He noticed that she still fought back tears, but fervently held back to talk to him.

"I…I wanted…to….p-practice." She admitted quietly a flush rushing to her cheeks.

"Practice?" he said, taken aback. "On me?!" his face turned a bright crimson and he coughed to hide his embarrassment. "Hinata-sama, surely there are other shinobi…"

"No! I…I'm a virgin and I… and there's no one that I trust more than you."

"Still! We can't just…That kind of trust is…I mean I can't…" for the first time in her life, Hinata had Neji stumbling over his words.

"I know, and…I'm sorry."

The bitter wind blew outside, and shook the windowpanes.

"I'll…go now."

She slowly stood up, tucking the items back into her kimono and Neji watched her go.

"Be careful, Hinata." He said quietly. "What you ask for is…forbidden by shinobi law."

Her hand shook as she reached for the door handle.

"I know, I just…I just don't want to lose my innocence to a man who deserves nothing more than to have his…genitals removed." She added the last part with venom and clenched her hands into fists.

Neji closed his eyes thoughtfully.

"Who is the assignment?"

"The son of the daimyo of the Land of the Tiger."

'An A-class assignment.' He thought. 'Hokage-sama must be giving all the new jounin a trial by fire.'

There was nothing more he could say. He didn't know what to say. He had never been in that sort of situation before and frankly didn't know how to handle it. Mission and tactical advice he could handle, but on delicate and emotional matters…he left that up to women. It was none of his concern.

But Hinata…was his cousin. His precious person. The one whom he vowed to protect. If anyone could pull his heartstrings, it would be her. But to what cost would he protect her? He was her relative…her cousin…it would be wrong for him to just protect her that way…wouldn't it?

But he couldn't just let this tyrant…invade and scar his young cousin, could he? No, of course not! Over his dead body!

'Get hold of yourself, Neji! She's nineteen and a shinobi. It's her duty to perform this. She has to, there's nothing you can do to change that. She either needs to sober up and do it or…quit being a shinobi.'

But no matter how hard he concentrated; he couldn't help that his thoughts kept floating back to Hinata's mission.

And he felt like a hypocrite.


	2. Chapter 2

_flashback_  
'thoughts'  
"dialogue"

**Secrets of the Snow Pt 2**

Hinata cried and drank a little bit more of her sake to try and help her sleep, but her stomach and nerves were too much of a mess for either to work.

So she sat in the window of her bedroom and stared blankly out into the window.

Tsunade had given her a picture of the man she was supposed to seduce/assassinate so she'd know her target before she got there.

Overweight.  
Black hair and shaggy beard.  
Womanizer.  
Plunderer. Tyrant. Coward.  
Selfish. Unforgiving.  
Kept his brother, the true daimyo, hidden, bound, and chained in the dungeon to die.  
Cold, cold red eyes. The color of blood.

'The same color as his own blood,' she thought. 'I'll know when I shove my katana through his pudgy throat.'

But first she'd have to hear that throat pant and grunt and have his sloppy mouth upon her neck and his fat hands hurtfully touching and squeezing every part of her.

The very thought made her skin crawl. She wanted to boil herself in hot water to get the feeling to go away.

'How can they put kunoichi through this?' she thought, hugging herself. 'Surely they could have ANBU just kill him or some other jounin…they don't need a women to sleep with him to find out where his brother is, do they? That's…that's not in my job description! If…if I would have known being a kunoichi involved losing your virginity to a…pig I never would have started this! It's not worth it!'

She squeezed her eyes shut and still the tears came. There was no stopping them.

She had to sleep. Needed to prepare for tomorrow.

'Fuck tomorrow.' Her bitter thoughts raged. 'And fuck the mission. I…I hope the earth opens up and swallows me whole before tomorrow!"

Hinata leaned her face into the glass and let the tears nearly freeze on her cheeks.

"Ugh. I just don't ever want to breathe again." She whispered to the glass.

The snow outside was so beautiful. Pure. Innocent. It fluttered toward the earth and hugged it firmly, bringing about a new season and a new reason to be alive.

She remembered a time when she loved the snow, but now she envied it.

How she'd give anything to keep her innocence and purity perfect, unmarred and beautiful.

No kunoichi should give it up that way.

Because you can never get it back, and you will always remember it.

'Get your mind off of this, Hinata!' she berated herself. 'Grow up! There's no such thing as happily ever after anymore. Naruto doesn't love you, you're a kunoichi and you have a duty, and that's just how it is!'

Choke.  
Sob.  
"Please God, let there be another way…"

"Hinata-sama."

That smooth voice came from a light in her doorway, but the light dimmed as soon as it spoke.

"Neji-nii-san! I'm sorry…I did not mean to disturb your sleep…" she hung her head, unable to look him in the eyes anymore. Not after what she tried.

"No, Hinata. Don't be."

She suddenly became enveloped in a warm embrace, the scent of musk and lavender filling her senses. It was comforting…like a scarf. Hinata closed her eyes and lost herself in it.

The embrace was intimate, and spoke volumes, things Neji knew that he could never, ever say.

Unspoken promises.

_"Neji-nii-chan?"_

_"Mm?" his pearly eyes peaked up from his steaming mug of hot chocolate._

_"Why…why did you lie to your father?"_

_He was silent for a moment, his cheeks turning red but he hid his face behind the mug. He then set the mug down and looked at her._

_"I…I'm going to be a strong shinobi one day."_

_She listened intently, munching on her uncle's delicious homemade cookies._

_"And someday, when I have to, I'll need to give everything I have to protect the people important to me. Father says that being a shinobi is all about sacrifice."_

_"So…you…sacrificed yourself to your father?"_

_He smiled warmly again and took her hand._

_"Kind of, I guess."_

_They sat there and stared at their joined hands for a while, just lost in thought and listening to the fire crackle in the background._

_"Y'know…Hinata-sama…you…you'd make a good shinobi too, one day." Young Neji admitted with a blush on his cheeks._

_Her eyes glimmered more than a thousand stars. "Really, Neji-nii-san?"_

_"Yeah, because you…you were brave enough to tell the truth and do the right thing. All good shinobi do that too."_

_"But I can't lie…ever! Papa says that liars get kidnapped by Orochimaru-san and eaten by his snakes!"_

_"Well then," he freed his hand from hers to put his hands his mug." I will just have to protect you then too."_

_Hinata beamed, leaned over and kissed Neji firmly on his cheek._

_"Thank you, Neji-nii-san! And I promise that I will protect you too."_

And they just sat there, together, holding one another. He, consoling her, and she, falling into him.  
It was his favorite part about her. One could sit and hold her forever and never say a word. You would always know, always feel her heart.

Subconsciously, he squeezed her tighter to him when he felt her cry.

"You will not cry." He said sympathetically. "You have nothing to lose."

"Nothing, or everything? I can't go through with this…I'm not that strong…"

"No!" he swiftly pulled her away and looked deeply into her eyes.

"Never say that! You are stronger than you think you are Hinata! If you believe that you are weak, you will become weak! I know many things about you, Hinata, and one thing you are not, is weak. I have witnessed this myself, and I would never lie to you. You may not have Sakura's strength, Tenten's weapons, Temari's wit, or Ino's creativity, but you have something stronger: your heart. And that is the mightiest sort of strength there is."

Hinata looked at him, mouth agape. Where was this coming from? Did Neji…really think this about her?

"Not even Rock Lee could mimic that kind of strength. You care, love, and support like no other kunoichi I've seen. You came out of the Chuunin exams with your pride intact, didn't you?"

"N-Neji…"

"Don't underestimate yourself. I made that mistake about you long ago. You have Hyuuga blood running through your veins and no matter what life throws at you, you will always pull through with your strong heart."

She didn't know what to say.

So she grabbed him by the shoulders and kissed him firmly on the lips with a passion she did not know that she possessed.

Then she instantly pulled away once she realized what she had done. She put her hands to her lips. And watched her cousin's surprised expression melt into amusement.

"N-Neji! I-I-I'm sorry! I-I-I-I didn't mean to do that…"

The brunet chuckled softly and pulled her hands away from her mouth.

"Yes, you did." He murmured smoothly, leaning in toward her.

"N-N-Neji…" she flushed, trying to regain her composure.

"Mm?" his warm lips hovered above hers, ready to show her what a real kiss tasted like.

"You….you…don't have to do this." She suddenly stood up and walked away from the window. "I…I was stupid earlier. I didn't know what I was doing. And I was drunk. Trying to seduce my own cousin…what was I thinking?"

Neji just sat there and listened to her rant.

"Of all the stupid ideas…You were right. I should've gotten someone else to do it…someone I…"

"Trust more than me?"

She stopped mid-rant and turned to face him. He had also stood up from the windowsill and had his hands crossed over his chest.

"No, you!…You don't know what I mean…"

"Hinata…I know what you want, and I know how you wanted it."

"Neji!" she cried firmly, wholly embarrassed. "Let me assure you that you know nothing…"

"I know that you don't have a choice anymore."

"What?!"

'Nice going, Hyuuga. Way to sound like a rapist.' He berated himself and scratched the back of his head. Damn why was he so flustered all of a sudden?

"No, what I mean is…on this mission, you're going to lose it anyway. The Lord Hokage ordered you and you have to. The fact that…you haven't lost it yet is not your fault. You have your beliefs and traditions, however naïve they might in fact be. But it is not by your choice that you lose your womanhood to this raving madman. Most kunoichi…that's how they lose it. To the cold-blooded."

"And what? You think that my 'mighty heart' is too delicate for that?"

"You don't want that. You don't deserve that."

"…No one ever gets what they deserve. I learned that the hard way."

"But you…" he walked up behind the kunoichi and put his hands on her exposed shoulders. "You can."

She laughed, almost bitterly.

"So you would shag your own cousin just because you think I deserve better?"

He whipped her around fiercely to face him; his intense moonlit eyes shanking her like one thousand needles.

"No." he said it like it was the last word on earth.

The silence that grew between them was unbearable. His gaze was so intense, that she shifted beneath it, but met it head on. She would absolutely NOT let him do something that he would regret later. He deserved a life he was proud of; after all he's been through.

His tender hand cupped her cheek and his warm thumb grazed across her skin.

"Hinata, I would love you…because I love you, and would give my last breath to protect you."

Her noble eyes filled with tears. Damn! How did he always manage to reduce her to that?

"Neji…it would hurt me…badly… to give myself up to him…but I would live. Life…would go on…"

"But I couldn't live with myself knowing that some ravenous hound dog is touching you when there was something that I could do about it! Dammit all, Hinata, that's what I promised you!" It was almost enough to make him go to the Hokage…

"But we're not kids anymore, Neji. This is serious, and there are…"

"Damn the consequences, Hinata!" He grabbed her wrists and pinned them to his own chest. His vivid silver eyes pierced her so tangibly; she almost winced in pain. His sculpted chest heaved with anger and adrenaline. She had never seen him so riled before…not about anything…it almost reminded her of Naruto's own burning passion.

That insatiable blond had an effect on anyone he came in contact with, she supposed.

"I just…don't want you to…be ashamed or…regret doing this, Neji-nii-san…"

"Hinata," he said her name with an ounce of exasperation. "Why would I ever regret…loving and protecting one of my most precious people?"

"You…l-love me?"

"…How many times do I have to say it?"

She grabbed onto his wrists and stared deep into his silver eyes, and found his soul there. Tears flowed from her own eyes as she could almost reach out and touch the depth of love she found in them.

He would never lie to her.  
He would always sacrifice himself for her.  
He would do all this because he loved her.

And that was enough.

*****

He was afraid to open his eyes the next morning for fear that it had all been a dream.

But when he felt the sun on his cheeks and a soft breath on his neck, he knew that perhaps it wasn't.

Her heart beat slowly and strongly against his own chest, and her hair, so long and sweet surrounded him. Her breathing was even and though it may have been the sun through her window, she seemed to glow from within.

She was a beautiful sight.

Hinata must have felt him watching her and she slowly opened her eyes.

"Good morning." She murmured against his skin.

"Good morning, Hinata-chan."

She didn't know what more to say, so she just lay there next to him and entwined her fingers with his.

"Sleep well?"

"Oh yes, Neji. Very well." he felt her lips curve into a smile and he gently squeezed her hand.

"I didn't mean to hurt you." He muttered after awhile, running his fingers through her hair. It seemed appropriate to apologize.

"No, I was prepared for it and… you were careful. That's all I can ask for."

Silence filled the room once more, and that was all they needed. Nothing more needed to be said, they just lay with each other, enjoying the pleasure of each other's company. All their worries, fears, problems, just seemed to vanish into thin air. It was extremely intimate and unexplainable, almost a religious experience.

Most, would frown upon two cousins loving this way, but neither of them neither cared nor regretted the experience. If anything, it tightened their already close bond.

Hinata grinned and started to quietly hum as her toes began to softly play with his in thought.

Almost a half-hour later, but too soon for Neji, she sat up and stretched, letting his hands and her comforter fall onto the bed around her.

"Sorry, Neji-nii-san. I need to get ready because I have to leave for Tiger in 45 minutes." She answered the unspoken question with a tinge of regret in her voice. Her eyes turned back to look at his languid form, and he only responded with a dismissive wave of his hand.

She stood up and stretched again, welcoming the fresh sunlight on her skin. His half-lidded eyes watched her lovingly before he closed them once again. He had had a fitful sleep that night, worrying about her and if she hated him for hurting her.

But her demeanor when he woke up changed that completely.

"The snow is so beautiful today, nii-san."

And she was beautiful indeed.

A strong and powerful warrior with no regrets and never to be underestimated.  
She had grown on her own into a vivacious kunoichi, but he knew that there would never come a day when she wouldn't need him.

And that was enough.

He fell asleep comfortably listening to her turn her shower on and sing.


End file.
